ancient Manchester United Star Robin van Persie slumped to a 9-1 defeat in just his fourth game in charge after replacing Kees van Wonderen as Heerenveen manager in May.
The Dutch side suffered a thrashing at the hands of AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie on Saturday, with Luuk Brouwers scoring Heerenveen’s only goal of the game.
The game marked Van Persie’s fourth in charge, having secured a win over NAC Breda last time out. The squad have so far picked up four points from other matches to start their 2024/25 campaign.
The former striker has made his assessment of the match after the shocking defeat, and has admitted that he was not ‘traumatized’ by the result.
“This is difficult,” he told reporters. “You’re going to take a number of knocks in your career. It was a really big knock. We learned a few more lessons from that game than we normally would have. That’s part of football. It didn’t traumatize me either. my players
“You want to get the best out of yourself. That involves falling down and getting back up.”
The forward spent time at arsenal during his successful Premier League career, enjoying eight years in North London before moving to Old Trafford.
“I know how it works, too,” he continued. “I also lost 8-2 against Manchester United once. It wasn’t fun either, but it’s part of being a footballer. It’s part of everyone’s journey to become the best version of themselves.
“It’s about sticking your chest out in those same situations and being proud of yourself and others. That’s what we have to keep doing.”
